Prior notification of a concentration (Case M.7970 — Air Liquide/OMZ/JV) — Candidate case for simplified procedure (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2016-05-27
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: banking, consultancy, economic concentration, gas industry, heavy industry, mechanical engineering, merger control








C_2016188EN.01000401.xml










27.5.2016   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 188/4





Prior notification of a concentration
(Case M.7970 — Air Liquide/OMZ/JV)
Candidate case for simplified procedure
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2016/C 188/04)






1.


On 19 May 2016, the Commission received a notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1) by which Air Liquide Global E&C Solutions (France) and OMZ (Russian Federation) acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of a newly created company constituting a joint venture.










2.


The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:
—   for Air Liquide E&C: Air Liquide E&C is a subsidiary, wholly-owned and controlled by Air Liquide S.A., France, which is a multinational producer of industrial gases and offers gases, technologies and related services for different industries and the health care sector. Air Liquide E&C is one of the operative entities of the Air Liquide Group which designs, develops and produces gas production units,
—   for OMZ: OMZ is a public joint stock company controlled by ‘Gazprombank’, which is a financial institution delivering banking and investment services. OMZ is engaged in the heavy machine-building industry which comprises nuclear power equipment, petrochemical equipment, oil and gas drilling equipment, products made from special and regular steel, metallurgical equipment, mining equipment, cryogenic technology, pipeline valves and engineering, comprehensive solutions, and servicing. Among other technologies, products and services, OMZ is engaged in the development, production and implementation of air separation technologies and equipment, the supply of industrial gases, and development of comprehensive solutions for refinement of associated gas, natural gas and liquefaction natural gas (LNG),
—   for the JV: the provision of engineering and design services, as well as equipment, relating to the natural gas liquefaction processes.










3.


On preliminary examination, the Commission finds that the notified transaction could fall within the scope of the Merger Regulation. However, the final decision on this point is reserved. Pursuant to the Commission Notice on a simplified procedure for treatment of certain concentrations under Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (2) it should be noted that this case is a candidate for treatment under the procedure set out in this Notice.










4.


The Commission invites interested third parties to submit their possible observations on the proposed operation to the Commission.
Observations must reach the Commission not later than 10 days following the date of this publication. Observations can be sent to the Commission by fax (+32 22964301), by email to COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu or by post, under reference number M.7970 — Air Liquide/OMZ/JV, to the following address:





European Commission




Directorate-General for Competition




Merger Registry




1049 Bruxelles/Brussel




BELGIQUE/BELGIË










(1)  OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1 (the ‘Merger Regulation’).

(2)  OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.